1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the governing of engine speed of vehicles.
2. Description of the Background Art
In a vehicle such as a "golf cart", the input shaft of a manual shift transmission and the output shaft of an engine are connected to each other through an automatic stepless speed changer, so that when the vehicle climbs a hill the speed of the input shaft of the transmission is automatically reduced and the torque is increased.
On the other hand, circumstances often require a limitation of the maximum speed of the vehicle of the kind described during running on a flat road or ground. To meet this requirement, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 129893/1977 proposes a governor device which is directly connected to the crankshaft of the engine. This governor arrangement encounters the following problem. In climbing a hill, the speed of the vehicle is automatically reduced by the automatic stepless speed changer and the torque of the wheel shaft is increased. When the higher speed of the vehicle is required in climbing the hill, the throttle of the engine is opened to increase the speed of the engine. However, even where the throttle of the engine is intended to be fully opened, the maximum speed of the engine may not exceed the predetermined maximum speed which is limited by the governor device, a possibility of suffering this disadvantage depending upon the characteristics of the automatic stepless speed changer. Namely, when the throttle is fully opened, the speed of the engine exceeds the predetermined maximum speed, and the governor device acts to partially close the throttle. Accordingly, since the speed of the vehicle is automatically reduced by the speed changer in climbing the hill, the hill climbing speed of the vehicle is lower than the running speed on the flat road. In other words, in some cases, the power or ability of the engine is not fully utilized during hill climbing.